The Mauritshuis gallery in the Netherlands is to reopen with Vermeer's Girl
with a Pearl Earring as the star attraction

Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring is returning to its home in the Netherlands after two years on a blockbuster world tour.

The Mauritshuis Royal Picture Gallery in The Hague closed its doors in 2012 for a £25 million renovation, the fruits of which will be unveiled in June this year.

While the refit was under way, Girl with a Pearl Earring was sent on an international tour to capitalise on its extraordinary popularity.

The 17th century masterpiece was elevated to the ranks of the world's most sought-after paintings when it became the subject of a 2003 film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth, which was based on Tracy Chevalier's novel.

In the words of Dr Emilie Gordenker, director of the Mauritshuis, Girl with a Pearl Earring is "the Dutch Mona Lisa".

Details of the Mauritshuis renovation, and plans to return the painting, were unveiled this week in London.

Dr Gordenker said of the masterpiece: "She has captured imaginations across the world. But she's getting a little homesick now."

The Mauritshuis has been upgraded to cope with a new influx of visitors. The original 17th century "jewel box" mansion now has an underground foyer linking it to a new wing housed in the Art Deco building next door. The new addition doubles the museum's floorspace and will house temporary exhibitions.

The original building has been refurbished, with new windows and wallcoverings. The Girl will return to the room it occupied before the renovation.

The museum may install a barrier in front of the painting to cope with the volume of visitors. But Dr Gordenker said: "One of the very special experiences for anyone who has been to the Mauritshuis is encountering the Girl in this intimate space. We will keep it that way.

"We are looking carefully at measures to control crowds, because it is a small room. But now that she is so well known we would like people to come and see her at home."

The museum has a relatively small collection of 800 paintings, including works by Rembrandt, Holbein and Brueghel the Elder.

The Girl is not the only work in the museum to inspire a bestselling book.

The Goldfinch, a 17th trompe l'oeil painting by Rembrandt pupil Carel Fabritius, is newly famous after featuring in the novel of the same name by Donna Tartt.

"The Mauritshuis for some reason seems to attract novelists," said Dr Gordenker. "I'm often asked, 'What is it about your collection that inspires writers?' And it's something to do with the quality of the works, but also the intimacy of the Mauritshuis."

The Mauritshuis Royal Picture Gallery reopens to the public on June 27